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Hydroponic Fluorescent Lights Bulbs Lamps

Hydroponic System DiagramFluorescent Light
Fluorescent tubes offer a broader color spectrum and are available in a variety of kinds including bright white. cool white. warm white. plant bulbs. daylight and full spectrum. The combination of warm and cool white offer a broad light spectrum.

Fluorescent bulbs are relatively inexpensive, long-lasting and provide even, cool lighting.

The down-side to fluorescent lights is that they are low in intensity and need to be very close to the plants to be effective. Seedlings, cuttings and most house plants will benefit from fluorescent lighting. Listed below are some fluorescent lights to get you started with.

There are several options when it comes to lighting your indoor hydroponics system. One of them is fluorescent lighting. Fluorescent lighting is the least expensive of the lighting system for indoor hydroponics growing. It is also one of the more energy efficient and coolest running systems. Despite these pluses, there are also some significant drawbacks to fluorescent lighting.

The biggest drawback to fluorescent lights is that they do not provide the full spectrum of wavelengths in the optimum bands for photosynthesis. The newer T5 fluorescents are an improvement and are getting closer to covering the full spectrum needed for all phases of plant growth.

For the moment, fluorescent lighting is best suited for ornamental house plants and for starting seedlings, cuttings and clones. Full-spectrum fluorescent lights are also great for leafy produce like lettuce spinach and herbs. They fall short, however, when it comes to fruiting vegetables and flowering plants. Despite the improvements with the T5 bulbs, they are still lacking in the wavelengths most suited to fruiting and flowering, so they are not well suited to activities such as growing tomatoes.

If you are going to limit your growing, say, rafts of lettuce, you might well consider taking advantage of the low cost of fluorescent lighting. If you do choose this option, here are a few guidelines in utilizing them:

  • Since fluorescent lighting does not produce much in the way of heat, lights can be hung very near to     your plants. As a rule of thumb, 4-6 inches above the plants is sufficient.
  • When planning your system, plan on using about 40 watts of fluorescent lighting for each square foot of growing area. With T5 fluorescents, use one 4 foot tube for each two square feet of growing bed.
  • Fluorescent lights are not well suited for larger plants because the light they emit does not penetrate foliage as well as some other types of lighting (Notably, lighting of the High Intensity Discharge varieties), this can be overcome by placing lights to the sides as well as above larger plants.
  • You can split your operation, utilizing fluorescent lighting for vegetative stages of plant growth and moving your plants under an HID lighting system for flowering and fruiting.

Properly used, and with an understanding of its limitations, fluorescent lighting can be a useful tool in indoor hydroponics, they are economical to purchase and cheap to operate. They also produce less heat than other lights and therefore reduce the amount of cooling your growing space will require. They can be a big money  saver, if their spectrum meets your growing needs.

fluorescent

t5 fluorescent grow light picture

t5 fluorescent grow light

$150.00



T8 Full Spectrum 20W 2FT LED Plant Light 4FT 40W LED Tube Light for Grow Plant picture

T8 Full Spectrum 20W 2FT LED Plant Light 4FT 40W LED Tube Light for Grow Plant

$205.90



fluorescent tubes light bulbs - 54w - 4100k GE - 46761 - 4ft ( 40 Pack) picture

fluorescent tubes light bulbs - 54w - 4100k GE - 46761 - 4ft ( 40 Pack)

$140.00



Philips Adv - Flourescent Ballast - 54W - 277 Volts - PHILIPS-ICN4S5490C2LSG picture

Philips Adv - Flourescent Ballast - 54W - 277 Volts - PHILIPS-ICN4S5490C2LSG

$39.08



Sun Blaze 21 - 2' 1 Lamp T5 Fluorescent Strip Light - 120 Volt (Blue) picture

Sun Blaze 21 - 2' 1 Lamp T5 Fluorescent Strip Light - 120 Volt (Blue)

$28.00



T5 GROW LIGHT FLUORESCENT FLORO T5HO BLOOM HIGH OUTPUT picture

T5 GROW LIGHT FLUORESCENT FLORO T5HO BLOOM HIGH OUTPUT

$87.90



Sun Blaze T5 Fluorescent Strip Light 4'1 - 4 ft Fixture, 1 Lamp, 120V picture

Sun Blaze T5 Fluorescent Strip Light 4'1 - 4 ft Fixture, 1 Lamp, 120V

$10.00



VIVOSUN 2FT 4FT 3000K 6500K 24W 54W T5 Fluorescent Grow Light Bulbs - Pack of 5 picture

VIVOSUN 2FT 4FT 3000K 6500K 24W 54W T5 Fluorescent Grow Light Bulbs - Pack of 5

$49.99



Sun Blaze 24 - 2' 4 Lamp T5 Fluorescent Strip Light  - 120 Volt (Blue) picture

Sun Blaze 24 - 2' 4 Lamp T5 Fluorescent Strip Light - 120 Volt (Blue)

$110.00



Sun Blaze 44 - 4'4 Lamp T5 Fluorescent Strip Light (Blue) picture

Sun Blaze 44 - 4'4 Lamp T5 Fluorescent Strip Light (Blue)

$168.00



SPECIAL SPECTRUM 4ft HO T5 FLUORESCENT GROW LIGHT PURE POWER UV BLOOM VEG PAR picture

SPECIAL SPECTRUM 4ft HO T5 FLUORESCENT GROW LIGHT PURE POWER UV BLOOM VEG PAR

$69.95



Sunpack T5HO 54W Fluorescent Grow Light with Reflectors, 4' picture

Sunpack T5HO 54W Fluorescent Grow Light with Reflectors, 4'

$55.71



T5 PURE UV GROW LIGHT BULBS SUPPLEMENTAL HYDROPONIC FLUORESCENT T5HO 4 FT TUBE picture

T5 PURE UV GROW LIGHT BULBS SUPPLEMENTAL HYDROPONIC FLUORESCENT T5HO 4 FT TUBE

$37.95



Sun Blaze T5 48 High Output 240v Fluorescent Fixture 4 Ft 40000 Lumen 8 Lamps picture

Sun Blaze T5 48 High Output 240v Fluorescent Fixture 4 Ft 40000 Lumen 8 Lamps

$135.00



DoubleLux 4 ft x 16 BULB T5 Fluorescent Light Fixture picture

DoubleLux 4 ft x 16 BULB T5 Fluorescent Light Fixture

$200.00



2 of NEW Sylvania F20T12 fluorescent grow light bulb 20w Gro-Lux 24

2 of NEW Sylvania F20T12 fluorescent grow light bulb 20w Gro-Lux 24" plant lite

$74.98



Sun Blaze T5 Fluorescent Strip Light 41 - 4 ft Fixture, 1 Lamp, 120V - Indoor... picture

Sun Blaze T5 Fluorescent Strip Light 41 - 4 ft Fixture, 1 Lamp, 120V - Indoor...

$67.62



Sun Blaze T5 Fluorescent Strip Light 4'1 - 4 ft Fixture, 1 Lamp, 120V picture

Sun Blaze T5 Fluorescent Strip Light 4'1 - 4 ft Fixture, 1 Lamp, 120V

$38.99



LWF54T5HO865 8Pack 4 FT 6500K T5 HO Fluorescent Grow Light Bulbs (8, 6500K - Blu picture

LWF54T5HO865 8Pack 4 FT 6500K T5 HO Fluorescent Grow Light Bulbs (8, 6500K - Blu

$99.18



Clean Light Hobby Unit for Powdery Mildew picture

Clean Light Hobby Unit for Powdery Mildew

$277.00